2020 Conference Rethink

Given where we are now with the Coronavirus pandemic, a physical event in June no longer seems feasible - or responsible.

Our options, now, seem to be:

• Cancel completely and wait until next year
• Postpone to a later date
• Move to an online format
  
  

None of these are ideal, but cancelling is our least favourite - especially given that we have a solid progamme arranged, and a lot of interest in the community. We would still prefer to hold an event in some form this year.

Postponing seems a natural choice, although there is uncertainty, at this point, whether it's going to be appropriate or practical to meet for large events at all this year. We hope it will be, but one thing the last few weeks has taught us is that expectations can be completely changed overnight.

Moving online seems the safest, and most resilient, option - but also the one that misses the most of the value of an event like C++ on Sea. It also raises additional issues of its own. But this is still better than cancelling completely.

So, as it stands, those two options: postponing (most likely to the end of September) or moving online, are what we are considering but we have not made a final decision yet. Since announcing this has delayed enough already, and it's not fair for people poised with travel and accomodation plans to keep them waiting, we wanted to be transparent about this.

So, first, to be perfectly clear: there will be no C++ on Sea event in Folkestone between 7th and 11th of June, this year. If you have booked accommodation and/ or travel, please contact your provider about cancelling as soon as possible (in most cases full refunds should be possible - but in case not it's worth holding onto your booking until closer to the time in case ongoing restrictions force providers to cancel anyway).

We will make a final decision shortly regarding the alternatives, as outlined above. But in the meantime you can help! If you have opinions or preferences please complete the following form and we'll consider the feedback in our decision.

C++ on Sea 2020 Alternate Planning form

Stay safe, stay well, and we hope to see you in some form or another in the not too distant future.

COVID-19 Update

The worldwide impact of the novel Coronavirus and COVID-19, has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks, and has particularly accelerated in western countries this week. More and more upcoming events and meet-ups are being cancelled or postponed. So, even though we are still a few months away from C++ on Sea, we feel it best to make a statement at this point.

Right now it's still hard to extrapolate out to June. Until recently we've been optimistic everything will be clearer by then. This week has thrown that into doubt.

As of now, we're still planning to go ahead. However the situation is fragile and it would be irresponsible not to warn about the possibility of cancellation in the coming days or weeks.

If you have already bought tickets you would, of course, receive a full refund in the event of cancellation. If you would prefer to cancel proactively, we will waive the cancellation fee for a full refund. If you're happy to hold on to your tickets, please defer any non-refundable travel plans (if possible) until we have better clarity.

We will (hopefully temporarily) close ticket sales. That doesn't mean we have cancelled (yet), and will reopen if and when we feel it is reasonable to do so. If you were looking to buy tickets please subscribe for updates - either on the email list, or the RSS feed.

If you are a speaker, sponsor, volunteer or anyone else involved with the conference, the above applies to your travel plans. Again, if you would feel more comfortable pulling out proactively, please let us know. At time of this writing nobody has pulled out - but I can imagine a number are worrying about this.

We would still like to go ahead with the conference if reasonably possible, but people's health and safety must come first and we will take whatever action is appropriate when things become clearer.

think-cell supports us as Silver Sponsor

We're pleased to announce that think-cell are joining our panel of sponsors as Silver Sponsor for 2020.

But who are think-cell, and why are they interesting?

I'll let them introduce themselves (along with a compelling offer):

think-cell is the leading data visualization software for business presentations. Our mission is to offer the most intuitive user interface for generating complex data-driven charts and slides, while at the same time ensuring seamless integration with Microsoft Office. We work on challenging visualization problems, reverse-engineer Microsoft’s code, and reinvent how slides are created. We do this all based on our own pioneering C++ library. think-cell is the only German company funding a C++ ISO committee delegation, so there is a good chance that components we invent will find their way into the standard.

We are looking for smart, creative C++ developers with a solid theoretical background. You will work largely independently and will be responsible for the whole range of activities when implementing a new feature. You should be able to look at a problem from the user's perspective and discuss abstract concepts with fellow developers.

think-cell is the kind of company developers truly like. In fact, in think-cell’s 18 years, only two have ever quit their job, one of whom went back to his home country to be with his family. We are highly profitable, so we can give you the time and resources to write beautiful code. There are no scheduled meetings. All management are computer science PhDs, so no unreasonable demands from people who don’t understand the trade. We pay very competitive salaries and offer our developers EUR 120,000 annually following one year of employment. If necessary, we will go out of our way to help you relocate to Berlin, and will do what we can to help you acquire a work permit.